


Creep

by SuspenDisbelief



Category: Community
Genre: Character Study, Drabble, Drug Use, F/M, warm up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-16
Updated: 2013-02-16
Packaged: 2017-11-29 12:42:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/687077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuspenDisbelief/pseuds/SuspenDisbelief
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Annie doesn't change as much as she thinks. It doesn't happen until she stops trying.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Creep

**Author's Note:**

> Been awhile since I posted in my longer fic "Better Living Through Tropes". Stuff happened and there will be an explanation (ish) on the next chapter of that one. This is just a quick warm up before work, barely edited. So there's that. I have no rights to Community or a certain movie that gets quoted. Or the song that was playing on the radio when I was trying to think up a title.

Annie Edison is a straight A student, a teacher's pet, and she has a crush on the _coolest guy in school_.

 

She counts her calories, eats all of her fruits and vegetables, and has bran cereal for breakfast.

 

She's on more committees and councils than any other student.

 

Her day-planner is fluorescent, every square planned with colour coded highlighters.

 

She thinks that if she takes just one Adderall tonight that she'll sail through this essay and have enough time for algebra revision before bed.

 

She thinks about the next morning, about her mother who thinks she's sneaky when she pours vodka into her fruit smoothie. About her mother who will ask her if she got her homework done last night. If she's ready for the PTA meeting that evening. If she's ready for the rest of her life.

 

She thinks about the rattle of orange pills, graduation caps, prom dresses, her mother smiling, and a letterman jacket across her shoulders.

 

***

 

Annie Edison is a straight A student, a teacher's pet, and she has a crush on the _coolest guy in school_.

 

She counts her calories, eats all her fruits and vegetables, and has bran cereal for breakfast.

 

She's on more committees and councils than any other student.

 

Her day-planner is fluorescent, every square planned with colour coded highlighters.

 

She thinks that if she takes just one Adderall tonight that she'll sail through this essay and have enough time for anthropology revision before bed.

 

She looks around her apartment; purple, pink, lace, and frills, her apartment that if she puts in her headphones to drown out the shouting and the sirens, it's her bedroom circa ninth grade. Before therapists who hand out prescriptions like candy, and therapists who ask you about your parent's divorce and tell you it's not your fault till you cry, and therapists that say enough is enough and you can go home even though there's no home to go to.

 

She looks at her phone and thinks she'll call Jeff and pretend that everything is a-okay and she just wanted to go over the plans for the diorama presentation one more time. Or she'll call Britta and listen to someone else's problems for awhile. Pierce and Troy will argue over who gets to hold the phone when they talk to her. Shirley might tell her to come with her to church for advice this weekend or maybe she'll just bring over brownies and a sympathetic smile even though Annie will insist not to. Abed will quote a feel good movie and make her laugh.

 

She scrolls through her contact list, but doesn't select any of the names. She could, and knowing that it would be fine and normal is all she needs.

 

She breathes deep and doesn't think about the sketchy pharmacy only two doors down the street.

 

***

Annie Edison is a straight A student, a teacher's pet, and she has a crush on the actor who plays the tenth Inspector.

 

She counts her calories, eats all her fruits and vegetables, and has fibre-enriched Sugar Flakes for breakfast.

 

She's on more committees and councils than any other student (but at Greendale that isn't saying much and she's usually home by the time that Buffy re-runs come on that music channel that doesn't play any music ever).

 

Her day-planner is fluorescent every square filled with colour coded highlighters, half of which are doodles of bright pink bat signals and plans for catapults made out of silverware.

 

She thinks that if she takes just one Adderall tonight that she'll sail through this essay and have enough time for history revision before bed.

 

She hears a knock on her bedroom door before seeing two heads pop in to stare at her imploringly.

 

"The commercial with the sad puppies came on again!" Troy says, a stray tear dripping off his chin.

 

"We may have to boycott that channel for awhile." It's directed at Troy, but Abed's eyes are locked with Annie's and she wonders if he can see what she was thinking the moment they disturbed her. It wouldn't even be a surprise at this point. "We'll need to cheer ourselves up. Arcade?" He points at Troy who nods a sniffles, "Arcade?" His long finger swivels to Annie and there is a determined glint in his eyes when he asks that almost takes Annie's breath away. She nods and watches as his face relaxes."Cool. Cool, cool, cool."

 

Troy turns into the blanket fort to change out of his pyjamas seeming not to notice Abed still standing in the frame of Annie's doorway. He's silent and she doesn't know what to say, what movie to quote to take them from the harsh stability of reality to their comfort-zone in fiction.

 

"And you can tell Rolling Stone magazine that my last words were..."

 

"Stop." His voice is harsh when he cuts off her meek attempt at humour. He glances around the room, more lost looking than she's seen him since Troy left. She wonders if he worries about her leaving too. He deflates, his tall frame slumping against her doorframe for support, "I think we should work on those last words."

 

She thinks about the  man in her room, how when he's broken she tries to fix him, and how they try to fix each other. She closes her books and crosses to the doorway that he still occupies. She grabs his hand, squeezes it tight, and they hold on for dear life. 


End file.
